ETECvac: Development of a vaccine for enterotoxigenic E. coli based on the heat-stable toxin

Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) expressing the heat-stable toxin (ST) is among the most important causes of diarrheal disease in children less than 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries. Diarrhea causes ill health and malnutrition, and is the second most common cause of death among children. Currently available prototype ETEC vaccines target colonization factors and the heat-labile toxin, but not ST. They have so far failed to confer adequate protection, and development of an ST-based vaccine has a high priority.

The ETECvac project is based on a unique and comprehensive ST mutational library, established at the University of Bergen (UiB) and Uni Research, which allows an unprecedented detailed study of the toxin's properties. The main aims of the ETECvac project are to design safe and protective ST vaccine candidates, and to establish the first human challenge model for estimating the protective efficacy of an ST vaccine.

The research will be conducted at UiB and Uni Research, in close collaboration with partners at Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.